"The Living Daylights" is a British movie that includes so many languages that it is impossible for me to name them all, but the most common one here is English of course. This film was the 15th entry to the James Bond 007 franchise and there are some parallels to other films and some differences. The title is certainly a bit unusual. I watched the German dub, so I cannot really say when and if it was used in a quote, especially because the German title means something like "breath of death" and this was used relatively early on, but means something entirely different than the English title. With "unusual" I mean that they did not name the film after a key character (good or bad) the way it happened in the past, but there is not even any reference to killing, to spy matters etc. the way you could expect it for a 007 movie, for example "A View to a Kill", the previous one. "The Living Daylights" could also be the title of a random romance drama for example. But it is not. This is shown by the title song that has the same name and received positive acclaim just like the film itself. Norwegian pop band a-ha came up with this one and it is probably among their more, but not most, known songs. They have been in the industry for a long time. That much is safe when they already worked on a Bond song that is now almost 35 years old. Away from the music, the director is John Glen and the screenplay is by Maibaum and Wilson and all three of them have a long, long history with Bond movies. Two of them are even alive today and one of them, namely the director, is almost 90 already. His film here runs for 2 hours and 10 minutes, which is pretty long for a 007 movie, well I could say for an old 007 movie because the new Craig films are also really long, most of them. As for this 1987 film, it could have been kept a bit shorter here and there. It is alright overall, but it is not without scenes and moments when it drags a bit I suppose. One thing that definitely needs to be mentioned is that this was the first film starring Timothy Dalton. I like the actor and I somehow feel that if I was a (heterosexual) female, he would be the Bond for me to crush on the most. He was approximately 40 when he took over here and as Moore played the character until he was almost 60, there was the possibility for Dalton to make many more Bond films, especially as his second film came already two years later, so really quick. However, he kept it at two films and that was it before Brosnan filled in. As for Dalton, he was Welsh by the way, so no English Bond this time. This was not the first time I watched this movie we have here, maybe second or third and I still think I definitely prefer the second Dalton Bond film, mostly because of Franz Sanchez (and Davi portraying him). The villain there is just infinitely better than the villain in this one here. That would be Jeroen Krabbé as we find out eventually. I would not even blame the actor too much, but rather the way the character was written. They could have done a lot more given Krabbé's physicality here. Certainly a bit of a wasted opportunity and the result is one of my least favorite Bond antagonists unfortunately. One I found almost more interesting was henchman Necros. He had a really nice introduction when he poses as a food delivery man, but is something entirely different. And his way out up in the air with the shoelace scene was although not too shabby. For once, a key henchman did not survive the main antagonist. Necros was played by German actor Andreas Wisniewski by the way. Sadly, that one is almost never mentioned anymore these days, maybe also because he barely acted in German movies. Here and there, he was in an action-packed series to see, but he focused more on international films it seems, also played in "Die Hard" briefly after this movie. I found his character interesting though. Pity he did not get better elaboration in the middle part. The film was certainly long enough for him to do so.
As for the usual characters from Bond movies: Not too much to say about Moneypenny here, they cast a younger actress eventually, which made sense because the previous one simply would have been too old for Dalton. She was approximately Moore's age. But this Moneypenny was entirely forgettable, also had no material really to shine. One who really did shine this time was Llewelyn's Q. The ghetto blaster moment was a lot of fun and Dalton's face expression after this statement was really hilarious. The sofa in which the other guy disappears was really cool too. They should use it as a bit of a hommage in a future Bond film. The basically one and only Bond girl here (if we forget the one at the very start that has Bond say he needs two hours and not one hour) is played by Maryam d'Abo. I know her relative Olivia pretty well from "Criminal Intent" and it is interesting how they look so similar really. As for Maryam, I thought the musician idea was nice, also how they carried that case around all the time, the assassin idea maybe not so much. I am generally not too much into blondes, so she did not do as much for me as she may have done for other viewers. But that is of course entirely subjective. Still, another Bond girl, maybe in the first half, would have been nice and d'Abo is nowhere near my favorites, maybe more on the opposite end of the scale although I am sure there's some I like less than her. But this is one area where they certainly could have improved. Leiter is also part of this movie, but his impact (or significance) is much bigger in the second Dalton film where what happens to him is crucial for 007's ruthless path of revenge. Maybe this is why I liked the second more. It's really bold and brutal. In this one we have here, Dalton still somewhat works out finding his role as Bond it seems. Here and there a lighter moment and funny sentence as you know it from Moore (and Connery), but that is not who he was eventually if we take a look at the sequel. Okay, what else to say about this one? A great deal of aviation for sure. As for locations, early on we are in Eastern Europe all the time, but everything afterwards is Afghanistan. A really exotic location for sure, especially taking into account that almost half the film took place in this country. While in prison there, Bond frees another guy, who tuns out a highly influential figure of the Mujahideen resistance movement (of course!). How did they even catch him with all the people protecting him? Anyway, let's not be too critical now. His group are not 100% Bond's friends (look at d'Abo's character's worrying on one occasion they could kill him when they forced them to separate), but again Bond finds an army to support him. Before he once again finds himself in the arms of an attractive female the moment the closing credits roll in and this time he is not disturbed by anybody. Another thing I want to say here is that I found it a bit unusual how really the Soviets indeed seemed like the main antagonists for a large part of the film, but you could see that Cold War was a huge issue back then, and this was unusual, even for a Bond movie. Frequently the main antagonist collaborated with the Russians, but eventually acted on his own and was just trying to play both sides to create the utmost destruction. Still, this is also how things turn out here at the end and Bond is of course not going up against the entire Soviet Union, but just against one villain and his aides in the end. This final fight sequence also brings back a character from earlier, another Russian indeed that shows us that the Soviet Union is not the enemy. Or at least not the biggest enemy. Earlier on, with how forces were trying to shoot Bond, you could have thought so. Okay, I shall leave it at that I suppose. It is an okay Bond film, but I still prefer the one that followed in 1989 and I think you should watch that one first, then decide if you wanna see this one here. Unless you really dig blonde Bond girls, then maybe take the 1987 film first. But you will certainly understand the 1989 film without having seen the 1987 movie. No chronological viewing required here and certainly not essential. Overall, I give this film a thumbs-up, even if especially all the Russian connections involving agents, double agents etc. felt a bit too much here and there. I feel they could have cut some of the week stuff and kept the film at 110-115 minutes. Despite that, it was still an alright start for Dalton for sure and I find it a bit sad that he did not play in more than two films. Oh well, he did a lot afterwards with other projects at least. Go see this one here if you like him because he is really in it from beginning to end. But shame on them for not using the really cool main theme more frequently. The one I mentioned earlier by Norwegian pop band a-ha.
As for the usual characters from Bond movies: Not too much to say about Moneypenny here, they cast a younger actress eventually, which made sense because the previous one simply would have been too old for Dalton. She was approximately Moore's age. But this Moneypenny was entirely forgettable, also had no material really to shine. One who really did shine this time was Llewelyn's Q. The ghetto blaster moment was a lot of fun and Dalton's face expression after this statement was really hilarious. The sofa in which the other guy disappears was really cool too. They should use it as a bit of a hommage in a future Bond film. The basically one and only Bond girl here (if we forget the one at the very start that has Bond say he needs two hours and not one hour) is played by Maryam d'Abo. I know her relative Olivia pretty well from "Criminal Intent" and it is interesting how they look so similar really. As for Maryam, I thought the musician idea was nice, also how they carried that case around all the time, the assassin idea maybe not so much. I am generally not too much into blondes, so she did not do as much for me as she may have done for other viewers. But that is of course entirely subjective. Still, another Bond girl, maybe in the first half, would have been nice and d'Abo is nowhere near my favorites, maybe more on the opposite end of the scale although I am sure there's some I like less than her. But this is one area where they certainly could have improved. Leiter is also part of this movie, but his impact (or significance) is much bigger in the second Dalton film where what happens to him is crucial for 007's ruthless path of revenge. Maybe this is why I liked the second more. It's really bold and brutal. In this one we have here, Dalton still somewhat works out finding his role as Bond it seems. Here and there a lighter moment and funny sentence as you know it from Moore (and Connery), but that is not who he was eventually if we take a look at the sequel. Okay, what else to say about this one? A great deal of aviation for sure. As for locations, early on we are in Eastern Europe all the time, but everything afterwards is Afghanistan. A really exotic location for sure, especially taking into account that almost half the film took place in this country. While in prison there, Bond frees another guy, who tuns out a highly influential figure of the Mujahideen resistance movement (of course!). How did they even catch him with all the people protecting him? Anyway, let's not be too critical now. His group are not 100% Bond's friends (look at d'Abo's character's worrying on one occasion they could kill him when they forced them to separate), but again Bond finds an army to support him. Before he once again finds himself in the arms of an attractive female the moment the closing credits roll in and this time he is not disturbed by anybody. Another thing I want to say here is that I found it a bit unusual how really the Soviets indeed seemed like the main antagonists for a large part of the film, but you could see that Cold War was a huge issue back then, and this was unusual, even for a Bond movie. Frequently the main antagonist collaborated with the Russians, but eventually acted on his own and was just trying to play both sides to create the utmost destruction. Still, this is also how things turn out here at the end and Bond is of course not going up against the entire Soviet Union, but just against one villain and his aides in the end. This final fight sequence also brings back a character from earlier, another Russian indeed that shows us that the Soviet Union is not the enemy. Or at least not the biggest enemy. Earlier on, with how forces were trying to shoot Bond, you could have thought so. Okay, I shall leave it at that I suppose. It is an okay Bond film, but I still prefer the one that followed in 1989 and I think you should watch that one first, then decide if you wanna see this one here. Unless you really dig blonde Bond girls, then maybe take the 1987 film first. But you will certainly understand the 1989 film without having seen the 1987 movie. No chronological viewing required here and certainly not essential. Overall, I give this film a thumbs-up, even if especially all the Russian connections involving agents, double agents etc. felt a bit too much here and there. I feel they could have cut some of the week stuff and kept the film at 110-115 minutes. Despite that, it was still an alright start for Dalton for sure and I find it a bit sad that he did not play in more than two films. Oh well, he did a lot afterwards with other projects at least. Go see this one here if you like him because he is really in it from beginning to end. But shame on them for not using the really cool main theme more frequently. The one I mentioned earlier by Norwegian pop band a-ha.